According to ESPN, a team has made a waiver claim on Jays’ right fielder Alex Rios. While the details of such a waiver claim can confuse some fans, it is common practice for several hundred players to go through waivers after the trade deadline – it allows the player to be traded past the deadline, and in rare cases, this situation comes up.
The team is undisclosed (per league rules), and the Jays have until Tuesday to make a decision. And it will certainly be a tough one. While Rios has irritated some fans with an apparent laziness in the outfield and a less-than-friendly off-field demeanor, he is a young and talented player on a team without any true stars.
The Jays have three options per league rules:
1) They can pull him off of waivers, like it never happened.
2) They can trade him to the team that made a claim on him.
3) They can let him go. Completely. For nothing in return. But the other team would absorb his entire contract.
Option 1 is generally what happens in these cases, with Option 2 being the next most common. Option 3 is extremely rare, but the Jays have a tough decision on their hands.
On one hand, Rios is under a large contract and the Jays are a team in financial stress with another albatross contract roaming the outfield in Vernon Wells. They may jump on the opportunity to shed the six years, $63.2M left on Rios’ deal after this year (plus about $2M for the remainder of this year). It’s a huge financial win if a team is willing to take him off their hands, and it may allow them some payroll flexibility moving forward.
At the same time, Rios is a good player. Believe me, he actually is. While his numbers aren’t anything special right now, he’s technically a 0.9 Wins Above Replacement player. This is small potatoes for a $10m+ contract though, with an actual value of about $4M. His wOBA is lacking because of his near-career low .728 OPS and a career low 5.7 speed score (still very strong though), making him worth -2.2 runs on offense. But his fielding has been acceptable (roughly league average, better in center), and this is a player with a track record already at age 28.
While he may have peaked, he is a better player than he has shown this year. Over the past three years he’s been worth 13.4 Wins Above Replacement and was essentially given less than fair value with his monster extension (at the time). For his career, he is well above average in center and in right, and his offense combines a nice home run-stolen base skill set. He definitely needs to walk more, and his approach at the plate leaves something to be desired, but this is someone who was pegged as a franchise three-hitter as recently as last season.
Personally, I’m torn on what the Jays should do. Rios has been a personal favorite of mine for years, and I do think he’s a much better player than 2009 has shown, but that is a great deal of extra financial flexibility for a team that desperately needs it.
So I leave it to you…what should the Jays do?
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#1 by cone diddler on August 7th, 2009
tough call.
the jays are perpetually stuck between rebuilding and trying to put together a winning ball club in the next few years. this is a big decision for them. if they need the financial flexibility that badly then they should let him go, assuming they can attract a decent bat to toronto in the offseason.
an outfield of lind-wells-snyder isnt too bad, assuming one of them can move to right. then again, rios always has the potential to be great, but definitely hasn’t shown it in recent seasons.
any ideas on if they could get anything decent in return? i.e. some major league caliber players as opposed to a mid level prospect or two.
they have some young arms to move, so maybe a cheaper replacement could be found?
#2 by mostafa on August 7th, 2009
who gives a fuck. he’s a bum. who gives a fuck.
#3 by Blake Murphy on August 7th, 2009
Cone, I didn’t have much time to write this (15 minutes at work), so I didn’t get in depth but you make a great point – with the farm system pitching depth, it’s possible the Jays could replace Rios internally with Snider or externally by dealing for a cheaper player. I like the idea, but there are two issues:
1) Our young pitchers are looked at in much higher regard within the organization than outside it, so we may not get fair ‘Jay’ value.
2) Our system is so devoid of position players I hesitate to lose even an overpaid average contributor.
I’m hoping JP can play this hand well and maybe get something in return for him, but he’s notorious for overplaying his hand…tough scenario, it’s gonna be an interesting Monday/Tuesday.
#4 by habib on August 7th, 2009
dump his ass and throw the 60 million at halladay for an extension. Then sign delgado as our dh for 2010!! PLAYOFFS!
#5 by Blake Murphy on August 7th, 2009
Wow, Wells and Rios back-to-back!! Keep this core together haha!
#6 by Samuel on August 7th, 2009
If only this was Wells, and not Rios…
I would hate to see Rios go for nothing. His contract isn’t THAT bad, and the Jays would definitely be selling low.
I remember a year ago there were talks of shipping Rios out for a top return; back then Rios was almost ‘untouchable.’ I think the Jays should still hold out for a decent prospect.
#7 by Rob Shaw on August 10th, 2009
There is no way that the Jays can let a 28 year old two-time all-star get away for nothing. He has been inconsistent, as always, but there are those flashes that make you think he can really be special.
Another aspect of this story is why has it hit the media. My impression has been that almost everyone is placed on waivers after the July 31 deadline in order to make them trade eligible and if they are claimed they are either discreetly taken back or they are moved. Seems JP is intent on leaking every Blue Jays related story to ESPN.
#8 by mostafa on August 10th, 2009
see ya later rios.
#9 by Blake Murphy on August 10th, 2009
Rob – Ricciardi welcomes negative attention, clearly. Please see this for proof: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/blue_jays_gm_confirms_there_never
#10 by Blake Murphy on August 11th, 2009
From BlueJays.com: “On Tuesday, the Blue Jays will announce a subsequent move to replace Rios on the active roster. It seems likely that Toronto will promote first baseman Randy Ruiz, who was not in the lineup for Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday night. Another option would be top prospect Travis Snider, though it is more likely that he is summoned later this month or after rosters expand in September. ”
Okay, so no Snider…again, probably financially (keep that arbitration clock nice and low) or strike-out related.
Ruiz has been killing it at Triple-A: .976 OPS, 25 HR, 106 RBI in 114 games, with a .320/.392/.584 slash line. Very impressive, but he’s also a 31-year old who can’t play anywhere but 1B and DH. It looks like he’ll either be the right-handed part of the 1B platoon in place of Millar, or a DH when Bautista/Inglett/Millar isn’t playing. He has actually hit righties better than lefties, so maybe he’ll get some serious run. Get excited for the 31-year old rookie!!